1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to user monitoring devices, and more particularly to user monitoring devices in communication with a telemetry system that in operation can send an alert to an emergency response team.
2. Description of the Related Art
As portable electronic devices become more compact, and the number of functions performed by a given device increase, it has become a significant challenge to design a user interface that allows users to easily interact with a multifunction device. This challenge is particular significant for handheld portable devices, which have much smaller screens than desktop or laptop computers. This situation is unfortunate because the user interface is the gateway through which users receive not only content but also responses to user actions or behaviors, including user attempts to access a device's features, tools, and functions. Some portable communication devices (e.g., mobile telephones, sometimes called mobile phones, cell phones, cellular telephones, and the like) have resorted to adding more pushbuttons, increasing the density of push buttons, overloading the functions of pushbuttons, or using complex menu systems to allow a user to access, store and manipulate data. These conventional user interfaces often result in complicated key sequences and menu hierarchies that must be memorized by the user.
A large number of the top health problems are either caused in whole or in part by an unhealthy lifestyle. More and more people lead fast-paced, achievement-oriented lifestyles that often result in poor eating habits, high stress levels, and lack of exercise, poor sleep habits and the inability to find the time to center the mind and relax. Recognizing this fact, people are becoming increasingly interested in establishing a healthier lifestyle.
Traditional medicine, embodied in the form of an HMO or similar organizations, does not have the time, the training, or the reimbursement mechanism to address the needs of those individuals interested in a healthier lifestyle. There have been several attempts to meet the needs of these individuals, including a perfusion of fitness programs and exercise equipment, dietary plans, self-help books, alternative therapies, and most recently, a plethora of health information web sites on the Internet. Each of these attempts is targeted to empower the individual to take charge and get healthy. Each of these attempts, however, addresses only part of the needs of individuals seeking a healthier lifestyle and ignores many of the real barriers that most individuals face when trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle. These barriers include the fact that the individual is often left to himself or herself to find motivation, to implement a plan for achieving a healthier lifestyle, to monitor progress, and to brainstorm solutions when problems arise; the fact that existing programs are directed to only certain aspects of a healthier lifestyle, and rarely come as a complete package; and the fact that recommendations are often not targeted to the unique characteristics of the individual or his life circumstances.
Individual monitoring has been accomplished by electronic monitoring and analysis. Vital signs derived from physiological waveforms a monitored and alarms generated if predetermined limits were exceeded by the vital signs. Monitoring equipment has become more complex as more physiological data is collected and more in-depth analysis of the data is required, such as calculation of vital signs and trends which required memory and processing capability.
With the introduction of monitoring units, attempts have been made to provide a measure of remote monitoring by transmitting analog waveforms of physiological data from the bedside unit to equipment at a central station such as a nurse's station. Subsequently remote monitoring efforts include analog waveforms plus digital representations for display. Both the bedside and remote monitoring activity act to give alarms upon sensing an abnormal condition and to store data and analyze data to obtain vital signs and trends. But these systems are basically one-way systems reporting physiological data from the user. There is no communication with the user as a part of an interactive integrated system.
Telemetry systems can be implemented to acquire and transmit data from a remote source. Some telemetry systems provide information about a user's activities.
It is becoming commonplace to use wireless packet data service networks for effectuating data sessions with. In some implementations, unique identifications (ID) need to be assigned to the devices in order to facilitate certain aspects of service provisioning, e.g., security, validation and authentication, et cetera. In such scenarios, it becomes imperative that no two devices have the same indicium (i.e., collision). Further, provisioning of such indicia should be flexible so as to maintain the entire pool of indicia to a manageable level while allowing for their widespread use in multiple service environments.
Medical telemetry systems may comprise an alarm adapted to identify high risk users and/or users requiring special assistance. Some medical procedures and diagnostic examinations require the removal of any telemetry system components attached directly to a user. One problem with conventional medical telemetry systems is that the process of removing telemetry system components for purposes of performing a medical procedure or diagnostic examination can generate a false alarm. False alarms unnecessarily tax hospital resources and interfere with the working environment.
There is a need for improved user monitoring devices. There is a further need for a monitoring device that in operation is in communication with a telemetry system and can alert an emergency response team with needed.